Marie, the Queen of Turf - Prelude to Splatoon 2
by TheSwimmingSquid
Summary: The final Splatfest declares Marie as the ultimate winner! Her popularity is rising more and more, along with all those shows and live performances to attend! What Marie thinks about all this success? Is Callie getting more envious of her fame?


**DISCLAIMER:**

 **This story is based on the Squid Sisters Stories, available on the Official Splatoon's Site.**

 **Splatoon, Splatoon 2, Squid Sisters Stories © Nintendo**

 **My Original Characters and Story © TheSwimmingSquid**

* * *

 _Sigh… today I am really out of breath. The dust on the pavement made home look like a desert… how dust manages to get back stronger than before, would be an interesting documentary I should record on one of my vintage VHS tapes. Once I do that… I would probably leave the tape into the dust, since time is as rare as me being excited of mountain food._

 _I am being pulled left and right so much, I am trembling at the idea of peeking at my schedule. If that were a book to study, I would have more luck passing the "Guessing the future" exam. Although, I can guess what tomorrow will be like: me begging to stop time, eat some chips and relax on a lounger. Probably near the evening._

 _Today, however… I thought I would not make it to the balcony, from the amount of work I had. Did someone cast a curse on me, hoping to see my own popular rise crushing my patience…? Probably someone who can't digest the idea of seeing me getting all the attention, recently._

 _If that's the case… I would suggest them to take some digestive biscuits: my face is going to appear in more TV screens, posters, memes and other forms of communication occurring out of my visual radar. I could be more accurate, yes… but why I should? I prefer spending my time seeing all the achievements I rightfully earned._

 _I might have complained about work being heavy… but it's made of precious gold I want. I may appear in pain, when I say yes to all those contracts and live performances… but I would probably scream in agony if I say no to those. The tunnel is long and the legs are melting… but I still manage to get out of it and see the fans chanting my name._

 _That incredible satisfaction of success and fame… I thought to know it well. Know it well… of course I was wrong. My mind completely opened in an evening just like this one… when that happened exactly? Nine months ago? I don't remember… but it had neon lights in the dusk. Fireworks… young Inklings dancing and smiling…_

 _Sigh… even to this day I can still feel that chill. The chill of… well… the outcome. The finale of that whole journey. It all began when the fans were chanting my name…_

"Marie! Marie! Marie!"

 _To think I didn't even cared about the results… those calls…_

"Marie, you are the best!"

"Maaarriiieeee!"

"Look at me, Marie! Look at me!"

 _All that attention… it was bombarding my ears. The music was losing all its power, in favor to those voices. The more I listened to those… the more my mind was flexing out of my visions. I can still feel that strange, unknown conflict happening in my thoughts… until I learned its identity._

" _…_ _but what would happen if I truly win the Final Splatfest?"_

 _That small, insignificant question… made my heart race. Made my mind pretending to see different futures. It was all happening at once… including the arrival of a fear. The fear of losing…_

" _Marie, there is no point of being scared: there are not many Squids who like you, anyway… it would be much worse to receive delusions. That's something I should be more scared of."_

 _I kept giving myself all possible reasons to fight back those futures, this fear… I was surprised to notice how those feelings were accelerating instead. I wanted to push more the urge of preparing myself for the incoming defeat… but that question wasn't getting of my thoughts. It was causing a war I couldn't stop._

 _Now that I think about it… how did I managed to dance and sing while this whole conflict was taking place? … it's better to not know about it. I can't recall another moment where I was this excited and scared at the same time. I thought this mayhem would had ended once I got back home… that was only the tip of the iceberg._

 _My mind was still at war… so much, I don't even remember what I did before seeing the door. I was shaking, I was sweating… that's what Callie said to me, while we were sitting on the sofa. Despite the fact I noticed it, I kept denying it. That happened, though… and still to this day, I am shocked. Actually, there was another thing who shocked me: Callie's behavior after the Splatfest._

 _She was so… calm. Calm and relaxed. When she was talking to me back home, she really sounded like me…_

"I don't think I will ever forget this Splatfest, Marie… seeing all our fans expressing not just their appreciation of our Splatfests, but also their passion for Turf Wars… that's all that matters at the end. Don't you see that too, Marie?"

"Y-yeah! Sure… I-I do."

 _…_ _I remember wishing to hide in my ink, for saying that. The fear was growing out of control… I wasn't even hoping for sleepiness to conquer my mind. Instead… my instincts were pushing me to get on the balcony. I walked there, alone… I lied down on this nice lounger and began watching the stars._

 _Just like this night, right here: I began watching the buildings with their lights off… I began hearing the occasional wind coming through… the appearance of an ordinary night. I was looking closely at all the little details I could find… all the beauty I had in front of me._

 _"_ _At the end, that was just an unexpected thought. I was caught off-guard… but thankfully, my common sense is still here. Callie has all the cards to win this Splatfest… nothing will change that. Besides, I don't think that Callie can take well delusions… if her fans would see her crying, her whole image is ruined."_

 _The more I was saying reasons, the more I was… me. Me being the Squid who doesn't give too much care about wins or popularity. It worked so well… I managed to keep my fears down to the minimum. I was still nervous, but not as much as yesterday._

 _I arrived at the studio with Callie, ready to reveal the results. I was so sure of what I thought, I was already thinking what kind of words I should say to the winner on my right. The results were coming up, I had the words ready to be said… and I see a huge number under my name._

 _I… won? Me…?_

 _The excited Marie was back. At full force. I was so overwhelmed by emotions, I was about to cry right in front of my fans! I immediately watched Callie! … she smiles a bit, looking back at me. No tears came out from her… she just seemed a bit disappointed._

 _…_ _I have done it again. I drifted my thoughts as usual. … sigh…_

 _Everything is going so fast… if I keep thinking like this, I will end up staying awake for the whole night. Callie would definitively see me outside the balcony too… it has to stop. I must do something._

 _Why I keep thinking like this? Every night has been the same: me thinking about my success and fame. When I think about those… I don't feel comfortable. I should be happy about this… but there is something about those thoughts that don't feel right at all._

 _Something scary, yes. … yaaawwnn… enough of that. I'll investigate on this, later on…_


End file.
